Charlotte undertook the Career Mentor Scheme in November 2014, during her first year at university. She is a geography student who was interested in pursuing a career in education and research, which allowed us to match her with the Head of Employability Services at the University of Exeter. This mentor’s main responsibility is to lead various teams through a period of significant change, to meet the professional development needs of 16,000 students and key staff groups, across 3 locations, to significantly improve graduate employment outcomes in order to place Exeter amongst the best UK universities for graduate skills development and employment.

Through the scheme, Charlotte was able to get an insight into the profession she was interested in and obtained job hunting resources which helped her further determine the path of work, which she wanted to take upon graduation. She pointed out that finding out about both the good and bad aspects of the profession was really beneficial as well, and that she was able to build up her personal skills which will help her employability in the future.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

I enjoyed meeting my mentor for the first time at the event organised by the Career Zone. There was a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and it was a good way to get to know each other before fully taking part in the mentor experience.

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

I gained a lot of advice on how to develop my own personal skills and relate them to my professional development.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Don’t be afraid to be honest about what you want to gain out of the experience as you never know what expertise and knowledge your mentor may have beyond their current profession that could be of interest to you.